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Well the Rowes hit another state, our own proud-o-meter just went off the scale! We have come a long way and this state will take some conquering due to it’s size. To get there we had to first get through the quarantine check at the border. This involves declaring any fresh fruit and vegetables as well as plants, livestock and honey that you might be carrying. For us it just meant we gave up all our veges and fruit, which kinda hurt a little as we had just done a shop a few days earlier. Shake it off though, we should have been more prepared (that’s not like us pffft)! Once we handed over our fresh fruit; Pears, Oranges, Mandarins and Apples it was time to hand over our Spuds (12kg!), Carrots and Onions. Our meat was sweet though so that was good, I think we would have cried if we lost our roast. The quarantine officer then gave a brief inspection of our car and van and it was go time. A small price to pay for entering this great state but a good thing for travellers to be aware of when entering W.A. Kununurra itself was a beautiful town with some very beautiful surrounding country.

Celebrity Tree Park was a hit with the kids.

Balancing the drive with fun.

Lily Creek Lagoon at Celebrity Tree Park.

When we drove in we couldn’t help but notice a great playground and park. This is always a great start for us as a travelling family, as the kids always really appreciate the time they get to stretch their legs and run a muck. The park is called Celebrity Tree Park and famous people have, as the name suggests, planted a tree. A great place for kids have fun on the equipment, while parents investigate who has planted a tree. John Farnham, Ernie Dingo, Wendy Matthews and Julia Gillard to name a few.

There was a good sized mainstream supermarket here as well, which offered us a chance to restock our fresh fruit and vege stock. The prices here were very reasonable too which is always important for savvy shoppers like us. The locals were very friendly, smiles all round and as a whole a great town.

Swim Beach, Kununurra, W.A

Great Bird Life at Swim Beach, Kununurra.

Swimming has become a bit of Rowe family love; maybe it has something to do with the crazy hot days for the most part. We sought to have a dip at Swim Beach in Kununurra. Swim beach is a Crocodile controlled area which of course is a must when dipping your toe in the water in the top end. Leading up to our swim, we got to observe a boat coming out of the water at the nearby boat ramp, which the kids found intriguing. Not as intriguing however as the horses that were being accustomed to water. The kids loved watching these smart creatures engaging in horseplay and going into the water up to their mouths. The real fun was to be had when we went in ourselves as they were keen to try out their new floatation tubes and were not disappointed. This trip has been great for us as a family for a number of reasons, but not being the most confident of swimmers it really has been awesome to see the kids confidence and abilities in the water grow.

Thanks for your questions Malcolm, all up we intend to be travelling for about 10 months. This year was about stepping outside the box and into our dreams and in the process improving our future employment prospects. It was about giving our family quality time together and memories that would last a lifetime. With that said we are currently full time students, full time home schooling our kids and full time travellers. It has been one of the best decisions of our life without question. On our return we will have a fresh outlook on life, a degree and a mindset to secure the best paying jobs of our life. Sometimes taking the first steps out of the box are the hardest, but life is finite and we wanted to live one that we loved.